I think I love you little donut!

okay... after finding that Extra gum commercial on YT last week, I stumbled upon more commercials featuring those cute little food things.. I still love that donut!! This has nothing to do with me promoting the gum, I'm just a sucker for pudgy cute things with dots for eyes!


Aww he gets punched in the tummy by the Newton's cradle thing!


Watch out little donut!! Intense!


Aww he takes the punches for all lol

Etsy World Tour: Thailand

I forget which temple this was... its the one everyone goes to because I joined one of those tours lol - nevertheless the steps walking up to the top of the temple was insanely steep. The entire structure was covered in porcelain mosaic - how's that for handmade! =D


SabayArom

Green Thai Cotton short Sundress, $22.99
Pretty refreshing greens, perfect for summer! Horizontal stripes help give your chest that extra oomph! hehe

RN & TN

Dirty Brown, $65
Oooooh abstract topo/circles themed wallet! I love that it has a large zippered change purse area so I can put bigger stuff that I definitely don't want falling out! Actually - this goes great with the sundress!

amicafe

Amigurimi Monkey, $10
Aww my bf would love these little monkeys. Maybe if they weren't pink lol but they're adorable with their big heads, dopey ears and pudgy tummys!! They're the perfect size for a handful of a monkey!

Sea and Lighthouse

Organic and Fresh from the Farm (Crochet Pattern), $6
More amigurimi! Oh little turnip, you are so cute! Reminds me of that Excel gum commercial lol



Okay...I know you love the donut too =)



Ahhh he just falls over at the end! Sorry this last bit is just random but so cute!!

Nature Photography

I recently stumbled upon the works of Alexander Belokurov who mostly photographs of nature and worldly travels. He does a great job capturing images of nature while balancing colours and composition in all of his photographs. Here are some of my favourites:

Peek into the Flowers Photo Gallery
A busy little bee on a fluffy violet flower. A sweet reminder of the warm weather to come!


Peek into the Autumn/Fall Photo Gallery
I must say I'm drawn to this one under the influence of the Twilight craze - but the way that the setting sun glows over these tall trees is gorgeous and mystical.


Peek into the Abstract Nature Photo Gallery
I'm definitely looking forward to seeing more of these abstract shots. Just a simple blade of grass, captured against a lush green background.

Check out more of his work at Image Nature.

real sweaters. not hoodies.

yay yay yay!!! my Urban Outfitters order arrived a few days ago - I really really needed some sweaters for the cold winters we get up here in Canada. Ones that were more grown up and not so much the hoodies - so I jumped on the good Spring sales. What better time than now when retailers are clearing out their Winter merch? I'm really really happy with what I purchased with the exception of the paper thin t-shirt on the top left. REALLY. It is paper thin, but its still nice =)

The plaid one on the bottom was the sweater that started this whole spree... lol it fits a little loose at the waist but I can take it in. The only problem with these long sweaters is that...I hate tights... leggings are okay (or is it vice versa? I hate the ones that are like pants, with the foot hole) for a big fear that they make me butt look like a pear. Or no tights/leggings at all? Scandalous! lol Anyway, the weather's too warm now for me to wear some of these sweaters, so I don't get to wear them right away. boo!

A BIG thank you to Mia of who was super cool with helping me get my order O_O - must exercise self control.

super busy, yet unproductive

argh. lagging behind on my attempts at daily posts! I've been in a bit of a design rut *cries... all the flourishing ideas I had while I was on vacation sort of vanished and now I'm back to nada!! I have a few things made, but not sure if they're going to make the cut... my desk is a terrible mess at the moment..snapped these pics just now... trust me, this is a TINY corner of my workspace lol! there's lots on my mind, I'm about to take a huge leap but my mouth will be kept shut!

yes. i have those little flowers cabs too.


There has been a few minor changes to thee website layout! I should have taken before and after screenshots, but you know, I was too antsy to get these changes made! Minor details have been polished up.


TITLES! Once above the item photo is now above the description.
PRICES! Once above the description is now below the description. The word 'Price:' has also been removed, it used to say 'Price: $X.XX' I'm sure dollar signs is straight forward enough no?

I'm excited to launch a new social networking feature to the website - if you don't remember previously each item had a 'Tell A Friend' link above the 'Write A Review'. Now it has the little 'Share' icons!! Oh oh oh! Look at the mouseover! You can still e-mail links to my pieces to a friend but its so much more neat and tidy. Thank you to the bf! =)

What to do with... fully functional odds and ends

Chugging along with Spring Cleaning! If you haven't heard of Freecycle yet, I highly recommend you checking your local chapter! I'm sure a lot of your fellow neighbours are getting in on the free stuff action - and who doesn't like free stuff? What kind of free stuff? Anything!

If you have stuff in your home that you don't want and no longer use, whether it is a broken gadget or a fully functional doo-dad, you can post it up on Freecycle! The only catch is that it HAS to be free. So many times I'd rather lose out on a little $ and just give something away for free if it means that someone else will find a use for it. Its a waste of my time to organize and promote a garage sale, sit in front of my garage all afternoon and try and sell something for a measly dollar - my time is worth more than that. This way, interested members will come pick it up at your door and it won't be going to waste!

You can even request free stuff within the community as well - who knows! Maybe someone has that Dremel you've been wanting for so long and they don't know what it is or how to use it! You never know what treasures you might find. Stuffed toys, electronics, furniture, I just saw a posting for a newly opened bag of chips that they didn't like the flavour of!!! I don't know about THAT one.. but who knows! Someone might want it, hahaha! I think I might be getting some bubble wrap/mailing envelopes that someone just posted =)

Its a great way to get rid of yet again - more clutter from your home and the site estimates that it is "keeping more than 300 tons of stuff out of landfills" EVERY day!

Speaking of...I have a ton of fashion magazines that hopefully will have someone else's name on them soon! Doctor's offices could always use some more waiting room reading material!

Etsy World Tour: Hong Kong

Ahh been so slacky with the posting!! I should plan further ahead and schedule them. Its because of all these sale e-mails I get at around 11am and I MUST check them out =X ANYWAY... it was so hard to get a nice photo of the bright lights that make Hong Kong's skyline. This was taken from the Avenue of Stars at night last year. These Etsy sellers from Hong Kong have lots of big city glam to offer!


Freda Cheung

Pink Octopus, $15
Aww, how cute is this little octopus, its shy little smile with one eye bigger than the other o_O I love the way Freda blended the paint with pale shades and subtle hits of bright colour!

Angee W.

Passion, $50
A gorgeous vintagey glam rhinestone clutch. I'm liking the taupe-y brown colour!

Just Me Jewelry

Black Crow Feathers, $40
The faux reptile skin headband makes this piece that much more awesome. The green-blue sheen of the feathers make this piece easy to match with cool coloured dresses.

Glitzer

Bali Floral Pearl Clusters, $28
These are a staple for every girl's wardrobe. Simple pearl clusters and the mandatory floral pop that pretty much guarantees that I'm going to like it!

Just Vic

Pink Martini Corset, $58
Its pink. SO pink. But it works! Twisted waist detail - pretty!! Just Vic's shop has been one of my long time favs =)

TLT Vintage

Black & White Pinstripe Pencil Skirt, $38
This asymmetrical skirt is stunning! If I didn't have such a booty on me, I'd totally pick this up.

Yellow Goat

A Perfect Match, $175
Oh my goodness, is this pendant ever so cute. Yet another lovely lockety pendant - I love necklaces with surprises!

Packaging and a New Poll: Shipping Options!

Its always a struggle to determine how I'd like to ship things. I've redesigned my boxes once again and have been using these for most of the month of May - no longer black, though I did love the chic and classy look of those! I'm loving this organic kraft look and no more fussy vellum strip that I used to have, no more fussy inside card in addition and no more zip bags (all of this was exhaustingly time consuming during the last holiday season and I realized was kind of unnecessary). I am excited to say that there is absolutely no plastic in the packaging of my work!

I think it looks pretty sweet without any ribbon and its easier for my customers to check their purchase before gifting to a friend.



And now for the poll:
You may/may not know, but shipping anything thicker than a standard letter from Canada costs an arm and a leg.

1. At the current shipping rate of $3.50, less than 1% of all of my orders have ever gone completely missing. It is the fastest and cheapest method we have here in Canada, but it is uninsured and doesn't have tracking. This is the first option on the poll =)

2. & 3. The following two insured options without tracking, do NOT guarantee delivery time but includes insurance if it is lost. Ground takes longer, air is of course faster.

4. The last option is insured WITH tracking, delivery times are NOT guaranteed. If shipped this way, the packages are grouped with much larger and possibly heavier packages which may or may not crush your order. It is shipped via ground by default and therefore often takes longer than the first option.

5. The final option (not on the poll) includes tracking and guarantees delivery in 3-7 days depending where you are located. It costs about $20+ and is only recommended if you need it urgently. I'm not even going to include that in the poll - $20?! insanity! I couldn't even bring myself to put that into the poll...

Let me know what you think! Is shipping with insurance worth it?

If you have any other questions on Canada Post and its shipping rates, feel free to post them here! I'll do my best to answer them - I've gained quite a bit of experience with the limitations and shipping methods they offer after numerous shipping blunders (and paying for them).

More Shadows!

Ahh! Remember my make-up post last week? My E.L.F. order has arrived! So awesome with the 50% off coupon too, it was pretty much like regular price at $1 each, with free shipping! I'm a sucker for shadows and happy to say that 3 of the 4 shadows that I ordered aren't similar to the 88 palette Coastal Scents that I bought. I bought: Ivory, Sage, Mocha and Dusk along with the compact palette to hold each tin (I've read that this $1 compact palette also fits MAC shadows perfectly!) and a creme shadow in 'Butter Pecan'. Brushes, eyebrow gel, bronzer... lots of good stuff =)



Yay!! New toys to play with =)

What to do with... magnets

You know... those crappy weak soft magnets? I'm definitely not a fan of giving away magnets as promotional items - I see enough ads in my daily life already and don't need to see more of them on my own fridge door. It seems like such a waste to throw them away, but I don't want to keep them either (right now most of them are stuck on the BACK my magnetic board, out of view). The ones pictured are from magnetic note pads I used up a while back and they're stronger than the bendy free kind but they're no different in terms of re-using. Actually - I have no suggestions for this one! I have no idea what to do with these. Any crafty embellishment tips? =)

In search of what to do with these magnets, I stumbled upon this UK based site:


Awesome suggestions from people who actually do it!